A love that cannot be quenched and which satisfies beyond anything else...

This week I have a week off and in my usual style I had loads of exciting ideas of things I would do... like go to the motorbike museum in B'ham, shopping at the Bullring mall for Christmas presents and as usual I find myself doing a lot less than planned!

I want to share with you a Bible study I did from my bed this morning as I rested in His presence. This is what His love is like:

God's love....
- endures forever (Jer 33:11, 1 Ch 16:34,  and many more in the Psalms!)
- it is totally unfailing (Ps 6:4, 13:5, 32:10, 36:7, 51:1....and many more)
- it is absolutely enormous (Ps 57:10, 86:13, 117:2)
- it is better than life itself (Ps 63:3)
- it is utterley comforting (Ps 119:76)
- it cannot be quenched, not even death cannot quench it (Ps 55 8:7, Romans 8)
- it is better to taste than wine (SS 1:2)
- it is like a massive banner that covers us (SS 55 2:4)
- it is a love that keeps being poured out to use despite our unfaithfulness (Hosea.. marrying an unfaithful woman)
- it is a love that quiets our fears  (Zeph 3:17 - picture of God singing over us!)
- it is a love that gives joy that nothing else can give (Philemon v7)
- it is a love that gives us understanding of what God has really done for us (Rom 5v8)
- it is a love that causes us to love others Matt 5v7 (quite irrationally from a human perpective! Only God's love in us can love people that hate us)

Who can recieve it?
- His love is for those who really seek and call on Him (Ps 86v5 - this is not a half-hearted calling on Him)
- His love is for those who really desire Him (1 Cor 14v1)
- His love is for those who hunger to obey Him and understand Him (Ps 119)

What should we do with his love?
- Remain in it or "rooted and established" in it like a tree (Eph 3v7)
- Sing about it! (Ps 59v11)
- Ask for more and more and more of it! (1 Thess 3v12)
- Chase after it like a man pursing a women in earnest (2 Tim 2v22)
- Walk in it (2 John 6)

What are the barriers to receiving it?
- anger (1 Corin 13v5) - I think anger is a big barrier to receiving God's love but I think it also has the capability to melt anger away like nothing else. Ask the spirit to receive God's love to melt away the anger that claws away at the heart.
-fear (1 John 4v18) - fear causes us to focus away from God and on us and our problems. However as with anger, God's love has the amazing ability to cast out fear.
- being an enemy to our brothers (especially those who know Christ) (John 15v12, 1 John 4v19- 20) - I remember being bitter, very bitter with a particularly group of people for ages and it quite literally stalled my ability to receive God's love.
-Other loves (1 h Tim 6v10, 1 John 12v15) - like money, things, people that are bigger than our love for God
- Disobedience (2 John 6) - deliberately choosing to turn away from God and so not be open to receiving His love.

The answer to overcoming those barriers to love?
- THE HOLY SPIRIT giving us an awareness of His love ( 1 John 4v13, Eph 3v16-21). The Holy Spirit overwhelming us with His love and giving us a deep, unchanging, unquenchable understanding of who God is.
-I must keep receiving His love, when it comes it astounds and satisfies more than words can say. Maybe like me, it has astounded you in the past, you just need a revelation of His love again today. Chase after Him and ask to receive His love again!

The POWER of God.

In the last few weeks I have been thinking about the POWER OF GOD, to the point that it starts to bring tears to my eyes. I think God is softening my heart and making me realise how dependent I am on Him and how HIS POWER is so GREAT if I would just allow him to work.

I had a picture in church the other day of the lion Aslan being chained up in the film Narnia and I felt like
God whispered to me, "That's what happens in the Western world, believers and non believers alike chain up my affective power by apathy, by unbelief, by lack of expectancy." Don't get me wrong I think God moves anyway, despite us. But I do believe that He would be so much more effective in my life if I had a more correct view of His majesty and power to work.

I love to analyse, reason, sort, fix, but more and more I'm realising I CAN DO NOTHING effectively without Him. This week when I was unwell physically it hit me again that God wants me to put Him in His rightful place. For me to come to the end of our own ability to fix and do things myself. To pray more then He would act through me rather than me in my own might.

I also realised that fear of life and circumstances is directly linked to my understanding of His power. If I think all the responsibilities and problems in life are mine to fix then I have so much to fear. However the more I trust in God and His mighty strength and fear Him then I don't need to worry about what life throws at me so much. I realised that God can't give me greater responsibility in my relationship with Him and my service to others until I have mastered this in the little things. Have you ever looked at Christians that suffer great things or those with big leadership responsibilities and wondered "how do they do it?" Well I wonder if the answer is this: they started trusting and relying on God in the little things. They overcame fear in the everyday things by knowing His awesome power and equipping of the Holy Spirit. The verse, "The Lord encamps around those who fear Him" has been ringing in my head this week and I realised with the Lord I have nothing to fear because I know His power is enough (Ps 34v7).

May these quotes/verses on His power inspire you as they did me:


"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you (Rom 8v11)


 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim 1v7)


Jesus looked at them and said, "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt 19v26).

"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." (1 Cor 4v20)

"God's power is like Himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the Omnipotent One. He sits on no buttressed throne and leans on no assisting arm. His court is not maintained by His courtiers, nor does it borrow its splendor from His creatures. He is Himself the great central source and Originator of all power." (C.H. Spurgeon).

Choosing anyway

I've been thinking a lot this week about choosing God anyway. Choosing to love Him when it hurts. Choosing to praise Him when we don't feel anything. Choosing to carrying on believing He is present when we are angry, confused, sick, tired.

Choosing to love Jesus is easy when things go well but choosing to follow and trust in Him can be hard when the going gets tough and especailly if it feels like you have been stuck in that tough place for a long time. However we shouldn't be surprised by suffering. Paul said that as Christians we would suffer a lot (Roman 5v3). We have an enemy around us all the time who wants to rip us a part from God and from being the people of God he has called us to be. 

I was reading Psalm 22 today and thought I could learn a lot from this passage that echoes the words of both David and Jesus.

Firstly he is tototally HONEST about how he feels twards God. He doesn't speak the language of peity but one of deep suffering and honesty. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...I cry out by day, but you do not answer...?" (v1-2).God wants us to be real when we talk to Him. He would much rather we said something, anything than didn't talk to Him at all. Be REAL towards God in your anger and your pain. I noticed that the Psalmist explained the situation to the Lord anyway in this passage. God wants to hear us talk! (I am 'scorned...mocked...surrounded...v6-8, 12-18). God wants to hear our thoughts and feelings even if he knows the situation already!

Secondly the Psalmist did a lot of REMEMBERING before he even got close to feeling like  praying or talking to the Lord. He remembered how the Lord had rescued his ancestors (v3-5). He remembered how God had looked after him in his own humble beginnings (v9-11).There is a lot of power in remembering. There is a quote that says "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." Thanking God for things He has done in the past is a massive key to hoping and trusting Him now and stimulating our praise.

Thirdly the psalmist WILLS HIS OWN HEART to praise God anyway. "I will declare your name, I will praise you...." (v22, 25) And as He does all these things His heart catches up with his determination and will of faith to praise anyway. He even starts prophetically calling all the earth to proclaim the Lord's favour and praise too! (23).

So I encourage you today too, don't be surprised by suffering and circumstances you don't understand but be encouraged to CHOOSE HIM ANYWAY and in time your heart will catch up with your will and decision to praise Him despite your situation.

Wake up Church! A generation of single people who need community

I've been thinking about the subject of singleness in the Christian church for sometime.I've been to countless sermons in my life on dating, marrriage but I can't recall a single sermon on the benefits of singleness in the Christian life or what the Bible says. I can recall vividly one Pastor saying to a church of about 40% single people,
" whether your married or not this sermon on marriage and parenting is relevant to you since 99% of you will get married one day!" I have to confess I was cross because I knew the statistics were otherwise. Let me tell you some statistics:

35% of the evangelical congregation are SINGLE
68% of the SINGLE evangelical congregation are FEMALE
65% of the evangelical congregation are FEMALE

In relation to the church and its teaching on the subject:
40% of them have NEVER HEARD a sermon on singleness
(taken out of statistics from book: Single Women: Challenge to the Church by
Kristen Aune)

My experience as a single Christian women of nearly 30 is that being single has its challenges and often instead of the Church reaching those we become the 'left over' population that are there to support the
couples and families. Countless times have I heard pastors say from the pulpit "whilst you are single make the most of your opportunity to support Christian couples in the church by babysitting for them, it's all good practice!" I don't disagree that babysitting is a worthwhile cause but being single has its challenges when
most of your friends are married with children. Sometimes it would be nice for the Church and Christian families to realise you need company and community, and not simply to act as a babysitting service! Lets face it sitting around a dvd player whilst the kids are in bed and the couple are at the pub isn't exactly company! So if you're married how about inviting your single friends to hang round with you in the chaos of family life sometimes!?

The single women scenario is another situation. Many books have been addressed as to why there are less men in the church (feminisation of the church? Perhaps women being more sensitive to spiritual things?? etc...) but what has actually been written or discussed in terms of thinking ahead on this subject? Very little I expect. One  male friend said to me he did not understand why so many Christian single women go out with non Christian boyfriends, I refrained from making a sarcastic comment. I know many single women in their late 20's and 30's and some of them find it very difficult surrounded by churches full of single women and their biologcial clock is ticking. When I look at my church and realise that there a several single ladies my age and no men, I have more understanding for those women who pursue non-Christian partners.

Furthermore, the church needs to think about the lack of men - how will this affect the next generation? Lets chuck out of the equation the lack of partners for single women in the church and just address the low ratio of men to women. We need men in the church for the health and wellbeing of church life. Why is our evangelism not reaching them? What does it mean for the company of the men in the church to be surrounded by women? And what about future church leaders? Someone said said to me, "there are not many things (in leadership and ministry) a single women can do in the Church". Well I'm not commenting on that one it's a whole other discussion! But  if the future generation is short of men what will this mean in terms of leadership and ministry? Also we need more women's ministry if there are more women in the church and a greater level of teaching on the gift of singleness. I heard an elder's wife say once that she didn't have much interest in women's ministry in her church. I was a little disturbed, considering the vast need.

The Bible has much to say in favour of singleness and a lot to say on the challenges as well as the joys of marriage (see 1 Corinthians 7). Lets not put one down over the other. (Also note that in the time of Paul, there were a lot less single people in society, maybe he would have taught on it more if he were around as many as there are today).  Someone said to me not so very long ago, "So why are you still single, can't you decide who to pick?" Again I held in my sarcasm and prayed for grace, (it helped me to laugh seeing my Dad's eyes nearly pop out of his head when he was standing next to me!) But the whole tone of the comment  was along the lines of "everyone get's married, why aren't you?!"

So please, be sensitive. Church leaders please think about how your teaching addresses singleness and the increase of single people in the Church. If there were more teaching on the benefits of singleness (other than the church babysitter role) then women and men might see singleness as more positive and feel less pressure to meet a partner. 

The main thing is regardless of whether you are single or married, pursuing God and having a heavenwood outlook is above all other things. If you desire marriage pray for it (God doesn't care about the negative statistics! He can do all things), but don't let it become an obsession which removes your focus from God. Also remember marriage is tough, don't cover it with gold paper and assume its a bed of roses compared to your singleness status. If you're married, be aware of the single people around you that might need company and remember you still have a higher calling too - a heavenly one. If you're a church leader please be sensitive and look at the statistics of your congregation and ask yourself, "when was the last time I spoke on the biblical framework for singleness and how will I support the single people in my church?"

A kind lady recently said to me "as a single woman you need covering as you don't have the headship like when you are married." Well that's another discussion which I'm not going into!... but what I would say is we do need community and company, so please church recognise that you are our community and don't just give us teaching which has the undercurrent theme of, "wait until you get married" as if its a much more superior calling.

Creamy smoked bacon tagliatelle

I've started experimenting with cooking again! I used to love inventing recipes, mostly cakes and sweets but have decided I need to do more meals this time so as not to grow too big a belly! Below is something I cooked tonight and is really easy to make so I thought I would share it online. I love cheese and those carbonara type recipes but this one uses crème fraiche rather than cream and half fat cheese so a little healthier. Also if you have leeks coming up nicely in your garden you can use them in this recipe.

Ingredients
fresh tagliatelle pasta for 4 people
1 red onion, diced finely
3 garlic gloves crushed (I love garlic so you might not like this much!)
1 red pepper, chopped finely
1 small leek, sliced lengthways and chopped finely
6 small mushrooms, chopped finely
8 rashers of smokey back bacon, cut up into small pieces
300g crème fraiche
100g cathedral half-fat mature cheddar cheese, grated
Fresh coriander to serve

Method
1. Fry onions, garlic, leeks on a high heat until they start to soften, then add chopped bacon and stir fry for a few more minutes.
2. Add the remaining vegetables and lower heat.
3. Meanwhile get the tagliatelle going (should only take 2-3 mins, see packet).
4. Pour the crème fraiche into the veg and bacon mixture and add the grated cheddar cheese, let it simmer a little and then serve over the pasta. top with fresh coriander.

Freedom of Facebook: Danger or a gift? (part 1)

Have you ever stopped to wonder how long you spend on facebook? Why you are on there? I have recently been doing so and it has led me to some heart accessing questions. I have been particularly led to this as I write my essay on ‘freedom’ and look at the freedom of access to information we have with such social networking sites as these. I will share with you the summaries of my research.

1.  Emotional immodesty - Samelson (Emotional Immodesty on Facebook) states that we can be prone to emotional immodesty in how we use Facebook. She gives examples of people who feel the need to expose the emotional intimacy of their relationships with their friends, their spouses, their children's births. She gives examples of tweets and status that reveal too much (even if about spiritual things). I have been challenged about how much I share on Facebook and why I do it. The writer of blog 'Perjoyance' (Facebook: A Christian Perspective) states that Facebook can enable us to fall into a place of narcissism where we promote ourselves and assume to expect that "everyone is interested in you". 

 2. Superficial Relationships  -  

The 'Perjoyance' blogger states, “Facebook also poses limitations on relationships….how we distinguish between ‘friends’ and ‘facebook friends’…Written words can lack the meanings we mean, we can use it as an online space where we sort out our problems or where we can quickly share our opinions and gossip…..It’s important to remember how much more sufficient real face to face physical friendships are, and they should have priority. Sometimes its worth asking, am I spending more time communicating on facebook than in ‘real life’ with my friends?

3. Excessive Time Wasting
Both Curtman (Christian Perspective) and the writer of 'Perjoyance' explore how Facebook can be a danger in excessive squandering of time. Curtman states that they did a survey in America at four evangelical Christian colleges found that "students between the ages of 18 and 27 spend an average of 18.6 hours a week using Facebook." According to Col 4:5 he says to “walk in wisdom,” requires our “redeeming the time.”  And so he states “The Lord will hold us accountable for the stewardship we practice regarding our time.” The writer of Perjoyance states of his attendance to facebook, "The number of times I have checked facebook in the morning before reading my Bible is actually ridiculous.” I too have drawn back from Facebook as I review 'how much time have I spend on Facebook?' Is it helpful for my mind? 

4. Facebook - tool for evil???

Curtman goes as far as to suggest that Facebook can be used as a tool 'for the Savour's work' or a tool for 'Satan's work.' He states,

"Your Facebook page can be used to spread the message Christ wants the world to have or the one Satan wants the world to have.  It can be a tool to bless men’s souls or to blight them.” 

But how one might ask? He states that we can use Facebook to big ourselves up, to post things that are emotionally intimate, to mix with the wrong characters, to browse on that which is unhelpful or time wasting. Countless people, he states, have committed affairs because of Facebook. Alternatively, he says, we can use it to bless others, to promote the gospel and the Church. He reports that it is surprising how many professing Christians never mention their faith at all on line. He asks some challenging questions,  

“How are you using your Facebook account?…What are you doing with your Facebook account other than publishing your secular interests and activities?....One day Christ will hold Christian Facebook users to an account for how they used this powerful communications tool that He allowed them to have in their hands.”

5. Facebook and the power of Testimony
Curtman also looks at our testimony as represented by what people see through Facebook. He quotes the apostle Paul said, “all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient” (1 Cor. 6:12) and suggests we are to be mindful of the ‘law of expediency’ when we use Facebook,

“Nothing communicates a Christian’s testimony more clearly than what they put in their Facebook profile, and what they otherwise post on their Facebook page....  few things can compare with Facebook in communicating quickly and clearly whether or not a Christian has a heart for God.  What does what you have “up” on Facebook say about you, and where you are spiritually? 

 He says don’t just think about your own testimony but the testimony you give about the way you have been raised, your family, your friendships and your church. Does what you write reflect well on these people? Is the testimony I present of myself and to others one of salt and light (Matt 5) or rather a stumbling block to ourselves or others? Wow I am challenged!

I have mostly looked at the 'dangers' of Facebook in this entry but in Part 2 I will look at the ways in which Facebook can also be a wonderful gift!

Beautiful England, and a beautiful motorbike!

I am begining to appreciate England's beauty more and more! This is along the Oxford-Coventry Canal Path

Bourton-On-The-Water

Herefordshire

More Herefordshire

My beautiful lexmoto Vixen 125

Conversations on Mission and Community - A joy bursting out....

I've had a funny down week. Perhaps I'm tired or perhaps I'm just frustrated, or both. One of those weeks where I'm like 'how Lord are you gonna fit all those amazing visions and dreams and passions I have about mission and community and make it useful?' I am half way through my Bible studies this year and can't help thinking, 'What’s round the corner?' However without God in all these dreams and passions they are just great ideas. But I have to trust that all this learning and studying will lead me into the direction he wants me to take.

The more I read about mission and evangelism the more I'm convinced that they are not as separated as missiologists and church leaders may make out. Traditionally evangelism is seen as 'proclamation' of the gospel and conversion of unbelievers and possibly discipleship (though I might dare to suggest the latter is often missed out!). Mission is regarded as something much broader, often including social action, reaching the poor, fighting for issues of injustice etc...And in churches the 'mission' bit is often left to those who go overseas or are sent on random yearly projects in the local town. To put it another way mission is often see as the umbrella to evangelism. However once we delve into these areas all sorts of questions are asked, 'Is the most important aspect of mission about spreading the gospel and seeing people saved?' What about social action? What about the Holy Spirit - maybe he does it all for us and we can quit even thinking about these things.....Why do we divorce everything from each other? We love to do that in our Western mindsets (still heavily Greek saturated -seeMy Big Fat Greek Mindset).

If mission is just about social action then we are just glorified social workers

If mission is just about fighting for political issues then we are just politicians

If mission is just proclamation of the gospel then we are just preaching.

The Holy Spirit must direct where we go but that doesn't mean we are divorced from the equation. As I read I am convinced of one thing. It's all about the life of Christ spilling out of us. If we are so consumed by the presence of Christ in us it will literally spill out like a fragrance. We will naturally proclaim Christ as we hang out with people because we are so excited about Him! We will want to feed the hungry because we will have the same gut wrenching compassion for those around us. As Newbigin says,

"Jesus said as he was on the cross, "where I am, there shall my servant be" (John 12:26). The one who has been called and loved by the Lord, the one who wishes to love and serve the Lord, will want to be where he is. .....At the heart of mission is simply the desire to be with him and to give him the service of our lives. At the heart of mission is thanksgiving and praise. We distort matters when we make mission an enterprise of our own in which we can justify ourselves by our works.....the Church's mission began as the radioactive fallout from and explosion of joy. When it is true to its nature, it is so to the end. Mission is an acted out doxology. That is its deepest secret. Its purpose is that God may be glorified." (Newbigin The Gospel In A Pluralist Society, p127)

The disciples and apostles in the Early Church were absoluetly enthused by the life of Christ, it literally flowed out of them. Even Paul said that all his intellect and eloquent preaching was nothing without Christ's life living in him. I am absolutely convinced that mission and evangelism cannot be seperated from Christ. The ministry, death and resurrection of Christ by the Holy Spirit must somehow be incarnate in us to such a degree that a joy busts out of us to those around us. That is what I call mission and evangelism.

Below are links to some interesting community and mission projects in the UK to inspire you:
Urban Expressions
Community Mission
Eden Network
Global Connections

XLP

Bleeding for a Generation

Ted: Where do you see yourself in 5years time?
Robyn: I don't know. I don't want to know. I want my life to be one big adventure.
Maybe I'll travel to Argentina. Maybe I'll go to China. I dunno. 
Ted: Oh.
(In TV show 'How I met your mother')

I am bleeding for myself and my generation,
I am bleeding for a generation that has conviction -
Conviction of heart, of dreams, of visions.
Mostly conviction about Christ,
His vision and dreams for the Kingdom
And what that means played out in my life -
In each of our lives.

Sometimes I think I'm just like the Pharisees and disciples -
Reading all these theology books but not letting it sink in.
They knew the law but it was all head and no heart.
Jesus wants radical, risk-taking, faith-busting believers.
He chooses those who are more hungry for His presence
Than anything the world has to offer.
He wants people with focus, direction, passion.
People who are tenacious about Him.

It hit me today as I read through Mark's Gospel
That the disciples and the teachers of the law
Are often the last to recognise what Jesus is doing.
But the poor, sick and even the demons acknowledge
His authority and presence.

I'm challenged that Jesus tells us that we have
 To be like a child to really see Him.
Children trust, they don't run in their own strength.
Neither do the sick, the weak, the tired and the poor
They are not afraid of what people think.
They are like blind Bartemaus (Mark 10:46-52).
So desperate for Jesus that they shout in the streets for Him!

They don't want to win clever arguments.
The poor, the desperate, the weak know they need Jesus
But so often I don't.
And I can end up filling my life with busyness and wonderful adventures
Not address the real issues.
Often that is about being, and enjoying His presence.

When Jesus says in Mark 'O unbelieving generation' (9:19)
I wonder if He is saying this to me and my generation.
We often have so many choices it's difficult to know where to look,
It's so easy to bumble from one great activity to the next.
So many choices, so little need to commit or have
Responsibility for anything.
(perhaps the recession will change that!)
Why plan the future? The world is my oyster?!
According to Jesus it's not quite like that:


"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:
"if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross 
and follow me. For whoever wants to safe his life will lose it, but whoever 
lose his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a
man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:34-38)

OK so was He talking about some of the disciples going to be martyred?
Or is something going on here?
Well the Jesus in the gospels said and did pretty astounding things.
He cast out demons, healed the sick.
He confounded the teaches of the law with his arguments.
Then confounded everyone by dying on a cross
And being resurrected
(though most ppl didn't recognise the meaning of that at the time).
He even taught that not only his disciples
but other believers would do crazy things in his name.

Do I believe it?
Will I take hold of the things He is calling me to do?
Do I even want to know what  God is calling me to do?
Will I get excited by the dreams and visions
He may have put in my heart years ago?
Or will my dissolutioned state and my doubts
stop me from pushing forward.
Maybe I think 'he hasn't pulled through before,'
So I decide I will bumble along like Robyn instead.
Maybe I'll take the less risky option,
Of not chasing the dreams buried deep in my heart,
just in case it doesn't turn out.

Several times in the gospels Jesus talks about
'seeing but not perceiving, hearing but not understanding' (Matt 13:14)
(see also Mark 8:17-18, Luke 10:23-24, Matt 13:13-15)
My prayer today is that me and my generation would
Really perceive and understand the heart of God for
Such a time as this.

I'm not sure what that really means,
But I want to figure that out in my life.
What is He doing in our workplaces?
In our homes?
In our neighbourhoods?
Where is the Spirit directing me?

Lord help me to really see and really hear,
Help me to be humble and dependant like a child,
Help me to love you no matter what.
Amen.

Being an adrenaline junkie can be unhelpful for our relationship with God

No-one can make you (not even God) spend time in His Presence. You have to make that time. 

 

Be Still And Know that I am God (Ps 46:10)

Even now I have to remind myself on a weekly basis, 'don't do too much!' Sometimes I find this hugely frustrating. I have friends who manage to fill so much into their days and sleep hardly at all. 'Not fair!' I think sometimes. 

Over the last two days I have been thinking how actually a slower way of life can be a lot healthier for our relationship with God. Hearing God in the 'fast lane' is not easy unless you can hear Him in the 'slow lane.' I'm learning year by year that slowing down and spending time alone is important if I'm going to hear God clearly. Yes we can hear God in the fast lane, but unless we can practice hearing him in the slow lane when we are on our own, we will not be able to hear him in the former.

I think in this day and age when we don't have many commitments and responsibilities (at least not at the young age my parents did) its easy to live an adrenaline junkie filled life. The world is our oyster, we can do anything, go anywhere. But this restless jumping from one activity to another doesn't enable us to stop and take life seriously, asking God 'What do you really want of me in this time, in this season?'

So can I encourage you and me to STOP!

"Lord help us to slow down and make time to hear Your voice in this new year of 2012. Help us to enjoy Your  amazing presence and take time to be still and to tune in, to get away from others and the distracting activities that stop us from taking time out with You. We acknowledge that You are Present all the time and we are sorry for when we don't make time to hear Your voice. We love you Lord Jesus. Please speak to us this 2012 as we choose to carve out time to talk with You. Amen."